UAE e-invoicing penalties

Rules checked 23 October 2026

What the penalty rules say, and a quick estimate of what a delay could cost.

Check before relying on these amounts. They come from Cabinet Decision No. 106 of 2025, the only penalty decision whose text is published. The Ministry of Finance’s October 2026 programme presentation lists it as “repealed” and names a Cabinet Decision No. 173 of 2026, but no text of that decision had been published when we checked. We will update this page when it is.

The penalties

Violation	Penalty
Not implementing the system, including not appointing an Accredited Service Provider, on time	AED 5,000 for each month or part of a month
Not issuing and transmitting an e-invoice on time	AED 100 per e-invoice, up to AED 5,000 per calendar month
Not issuing and transmitting an e-credit note on time	AED 100 per e-credit note, up to AED 5,000 per calendar month
Issuer not notifying the FTA of a system failure on timeThe duty to report a system failure was repealed from 1 October 2026; whether this penalty can still apply is unclear.	AED 1,000 for each day or part of a day
Recipient not notifying the FTA of a system failure on timeThe duty to report a system failure was repealed from 1 October 2026; whether this penalty can still apply is unclear.	AED 1,000 for each day or part of a day
Not telling your Accredited Service Provider about a change to your FTA-registered data on time	AED 1,000 for each day or part of a day

Estimate a penalty

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When do penalties start?

Only from the date e-invoicing is mandatory for you. Businesses using the system voluntarily, including in the pilot, are outside the penalty rules. For businesses with revenue of AED 50,000,000 or more, the provider must be appointed by 30 October 2026 and the system running by 1 January 2027; the official texts don’t say whether the monthly penalty for not implementing the system starts at the first or the second date. Use the deadline checker to see your dates.

The deadlines behind each penalty

Issuing: an e-invoice or e-credit note must be issued and sent within 14 business days of the transaction. VAT-registered businesses must also meet the VAT Law’s invoicing deadline (14 days from the date of supply).
Changes to your details: tell your Accredited Service Provider in writing within 5 business days after the Federal Tax Authority confirms a change to your registered data.
System failures: the rule requiring businesses to report a system failure to the Federal Tax Authority within 2 business days was repealed from 1 October 2026 by Ministerial Decision No. 197 of 2026. The Ministry’s guidelines now expect your provider to email the authority about an outage “in a timely manner”.

Not registered for VAT?

The penalties can still apply. E-invoicing covers anyone doing business in the UAE regardless of VAT registration, except businesses that only sell to consumers, which are outside the system for now.

Keeping records

Keep your e-invoices for the period set by the Tax Procedures Law: the Ministry’s guidelines give 5 years (7 for real estate). Since 1 October 2026 they no longer have to be stored inside the UAE, but you must be able to produce them on request.

Sources and last check

Rules checked 23 October 2026 · How we check the rules